(no subject)
Java by the Cup And the Computer: One high school's answer to bridging the digital divide.
God this article pissed me off! First, I am all for giving kids access to computers and making it convenient for them to work together and complete their school assignments. I agree that not everyone has a computer at home and also that most kids don't get the kind of time and atmosphere they need to study either. But to completely diss the library is just wrong!
The article says "On one recent morning another sophomore was there too, to do research on deserts for a biology paper" and "Although we have computers in our ...library, it is not possible to send e-mail on them, and they operate at less than half the speed of the units in the Cyber Cafe. The library quiet also is less enticing than the cafe's buzz. "
Well exactly who decided NOT to buy the library adequate equipment? Who decided to limit access to e-mail on the library machines? And why is the library "quiet"?
The principal that wrote this article has written off the library. They are also willing to accept, according to this, a 10th grade paper with research done exclusively on-line. How can the school be sure that the information on deserts that is available on-line is accurate? What kind of help will the student get if they can't find out something about desert ecologies?
Now, I have no doubt that the school library has done their fair share of digging themselves into this hole. But a responsible principal would put the Cyber Cafe under the responsibility of the library; they would open the library before and after school so that kids have access to BOOKS as well as the Internet for their homework; they would provide teachers' aides for the library to help kids with their homework.
I agree that a Cyber Cafe is more appealing than the quiet of a traditional library. This school has the luxury of both right now but the goal of each should be enhancing the education experience of their students. Education is about teaching kids to think, to evaluate sources and to make good decisions about how to learn. The Internet has to be a big part of that learning today but the Internet is the domain of the library. Let, no, make the library manage the Cyber Cafe so that students have help and can learn that not everything on-line is correct and that books can be a good starting point for any assignment.
God this article pissed me off! First, I am all for giving kids access to computers and making it convenient for them to work together and complete their school assignments. I agree that not everyone has a computer at home and also that most kids don't get the kind of time and atmosphere they need to study either. But to completely diss the library is just wrong!
The article says "On one recent morning another sophomore was there too, to do research on deserts for a biology paper" and "Although we have computers in our ...library, it is not possible to send e-mail on them, and they operate at less than half the speed of the units in the Cyber Cafe. The library quiet also is less enticing than the cafe's buzz. "
Well exactly who decided NOT to buy the library adequate equipment? Who decided to limit access to e-mail on the library machines? And why is the library "quiet"?
The principal that wrote this article has written off the library. They are also willing to accept, according to this, a 10th grade paper with research done exclusively on-line. How can the school be sure that the information on deserts that is available on-line is accurate? What kind of help will the student get if they can't find out something about desert ecologies?
Now, I have no doubt that the school library has done their fair share of digging themselves into this hole. But a responsible principal would put the Cyber Cafe under the responsibility of the library; they would open the library before and after school so that kids have access to BOOKS as well as the Internet for their homework; they would provide teachers' aides for the library to help kids with their homework.
I agree that a Cyber Cafe is more appealing than the quiet of a traditional library. This school has the luxury of both right now but the goal of each should be enhancing the education experience of their students. Education is about teaching kids to think, to evaluate sources and to make good decisions about how to learn. The Internet has to be a big part of that learning today but the Internet is the domain of the library. Let, no, make the library manage the Cyber Cafe so that students have help and can learn that not everything on-line is correct and that books can be a good starting point for any assignment.